Segmental gear for button-making machines.



No. 707,328. Patentad Aug. l9, I902.

- J. HORMBY.-

SEGMENTAL GEAR FDR BUTTON MAKING MACHINES.

(Application filed Apr. 4, 1902) (No modem 5 Sheets--Sheet l.

HQ. Q

WITNESSES: I IN VENTOI? I #13 ATTORNEY m: NORRIS warms co.. Pnmuu'nlmWASHINGTON. n. c,

Q No. 707,328. Patented Aug. I9, 1902.

J.HORMBY.

SEGMENTAL GEAR FOB BUTTON MAKING MACHINES. (Application filed Apr. 4,1902.)

(No Model.) I 5 Sheets$heet 2.

Patented .Aug. l9, I902.

\ J. HORMB'Y. SEGMENTAL GEAR FOR BUTTON MAKING MACHINES.

(Application tiled Apr. 4, 1902.) -(No Model.)

5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

III/A III/Ill/I/II //v VENTOH WITNESSES ms Arrbmvff Patented Aug. I9,I902. J. HOBMBY. SEGMENTAL GEAR FOR BUTTON MAKING MACHINES.

I (Application filed Apr. 4, 1902.)

5 Sheeis-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

INVENTOR 1 WITNESSES.

No. 707,328. Patented Aug. l9, I902.

J. nosmav.

SEGMENTAL GEAR FOR BUTTON MAKING MAGHINES.

- (Application filed Apr. 4, 1909.!

(No Model.) I 5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

Nrrnn, STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SEGMENTAL GEAR FOR BUTTON- MAKING MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 707,328, dated August19, 1902.

Application filed April 4, 1902. Serial No. 101,438. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN HORMBY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Woonsocket,

in the county of Providence and State of- Rhode Island, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Segmental Gears for Button-Making Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for making buttons from vegetableivory or like material, and more particularly to the machine for thispurpose shown and described in my United States Patent No. 611,811,dated October 4, 1898. In this machine the movable j aw of the grip forholding the button-blank is actuated to close the jaw on the material byturning up a screw, the screw passing loosely through one jaw andthreaded into the other and provided with a pinion which is rotated atthe proper time to turn the screw by means of a segmental gear mountedin the end of a pivoted lever operated by hand by the operator when hehas placed a blank or slab between the jaws. In the practical operationof this device the segmental gear frequently came into contact with thepinion in such a mannerthat is to say,with the point of a segmentalgear-tooth in contact with the point of a pinion-tooththat the actionwas similar to that of twotoggle-levers occupying radial lines from theshafts of the gear and pinion, the result being that the strain wasexerted directly toward the center of the pinion instead of on a tangentto the pitch-line of the pinion, the movement of the lever and pinionbeing thus blocked, rendering further movement of the lever or rotationof the pinion impossible.

The object of this invention is toprovide means for overcoming thisdifficulty by rendering such contact of the teeth of the segmental gearand pinion impossible; and with this object in View the inventionconsists in the improved construction, arrangement, and combination ofparts hereinafter fully described and afterward specifically claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is illustrated mechanismembodying my invention, Figure 1 is a View in elevation looking from theleft at the front of the machine at the rock-shaft which carries thesegmental gear, theupper part of the gear and the lower part of thesupporting-bracket being broken away and the clutch-gear, rock-shaft,and grip-screw being shown in section. i Fig. 2 is a similar View withparts broken away and in section, the gear, grip, pinion, and clutchgearrock-shaft being omitted. Fig.- 3 is a view in elevation of theleft-handend of the left-hand friction-collar. Fig. 1 is a View insection on the plane of line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a view'inelevation of the right-hand end of the left-hand eccentric bushing. Fig.6 is a view in side elevationof the same bushing drawn in an inclinedposition. Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the plane of line 7 7 of Fig. 5.Fig. 8 is a viewin frontelevation showing the relative positions 1 ofthe parts when mounted on the machine, the shafts, hand-lever, andsegmental gear being partly broken away. Fig. 9 is a vertical sectionalview of the parts mounted on the segmentalgear rock-shaft, except thehand-lever and the gear, the shaft being broken away in the center. Fig.10 is a transverse sectional view on the plane of line 10 10 of Fig. 9,omitting the bracket. Fig. 11 isatransverse sectional view on the sameplane, omitting'the bracket and including the segmental gear andgrippinion, the segmental gearbeing shown above the grip-gear. Fig. 12is a similar view with the segmental gear in mesh with the gripgear.Fig. 13 is a sectional detail of the pinion-screw and connections. Fig.14 is a front elevation of the complete machine, locating the variousparts.

Like reference characters mark the same parts in all of the figures.

Referring to the drawings by reference characters, A B indicate bracketssecured to the front of the machine, which at their upper ends areprovided with bearings to receive eccentric bushings G D, in which isjournaled a rock-shaft E. Upon this shaft at any suitable pointismounted a hand-lever F, adj ustaloly secured thereto lay-means of asplit ring F at itsend' and a clampingscrew f through the same. Asegmental gear G is similarly secured on this rock-shaft E by means ofthe split ring G at one end and a clamping-screw g, said segmental gearwhen mounted being in the vertical plane with a gear or pinion H on thescrew H of the gripcarriers of the machine, as in the beforementionedpatent. In order that the eccentric bushings may not move too freely intheir bearings, a brake I is provided, (see Fig. 2,) pressed againstthem by a spring I, whose tension is adjustable by a screw 1', threadedthrough the bracket.

The bushings O and D are provided with lateral bearing-flanges O D neartheir inner ends, from each of which annular flanges 0 cl projectlongitudinally inward, parts of which are cut away, forming a recess, asat c (1, into which recess projects a pin a, secured in shaft E. Nextinside of each eccentric bushing on the shaft E is a split frictionalcollar, as at J K, secured upon the shaft by a screw J K with sufficientfriction to move the eccentric bushing 0 when coming in contact with lugO and to overcome friction of brake-spring I to throw shaft withsegmental gear into mesh. The brakespring holds the eccentric bushingagainst the friction of shaft E. From these collars project pairs oflugs jj 7t between which the lugs O D, respectively, of the eccentricbushings play when the parts are assembled. The bushings andfriction-collars are held in place against the brackets by rings L M,secured on shaft E by screws Z m.

N indicates a rock-shaft journaled in brackets O 0, Fig. 14, secured tothe frame of the machine below the rock-shaft E, which shaft isconnected up by any suitable means (not shown) to operate to engage andrelease the clutch-gears on the main shaft of the machine. On'thisrock-shaft N is secured an arm P, carrying a bar Q, which is so locatedin the path of the hand-lever F as to be moved inward when thehand-lever is pressed downward to the extreme limit of its throw, whichmovement releases the clutch-gears on the main shaft and permits themachine to move one revolution. \Vheu, however, it is not desired torelease the clutch-gears, the handlever is not forced downwardly to itsfull limit, but is held off bar Q bya spring-pin R, Figs. 1 and 2,coming in contact with the frame of the machine.

S T indicate pins projecting laterally from the brackets between thelugs of the split collars J K, Figs. 8, 10, and 12.

In the operation of the machine the lowering of the hand-lever F raisesthe segmental gear G and rotates the grip-pinion H to the right, tightlyclamping the grip U on the slab of which the button is made. On theinner portion of screw H, as shown in Fig. 13, is an expanding springit, having a tendency to press an adjusting-nut V and the screw andpinion inward and hold the pinion with a strong but yielding pressureagainst, the grip U, so that the pinion will not move by reason of jarsor jerks of the machinery. The raising of the hand-lever F lowers thegear G, which turns the pinion II to the left and releases the grip. Asthe tightening of one grip is immediately followed by the releasing ofthe next grip, the segmental gear G must in its upward movement pass outof mesh with the grip-pinion H. In coming into mesh with the followingpinion during the operation of the old machine the teeth sometimesfailed to properly engage, as before stated,owingsometimes to themovement of the pinion after the segmental gear had passed out of meshwith it during the preceding release movement. In this invention thisdifficulty is overcome in the following manner: Assuming that thehand-lever F is down and the segmental gear G raised out of mesh withthe grip-gear H, the hand-lever F in rising turns the shaft E and bringsthe lower lugs j 76 of the frictioncollars J K into contact with lugs CD of eccentric bushings O D, which turns the eccentric bushings andthrows the shaft E nearer to pinion H and causes the segmental gears toassume the position shown in Fig. 11, causing their teeth to overlapthose of the pinion H (the pinion being always held by the tension ofthe spring a in the position in which it was left when the segmentalgear last passed out of mesh) in such a manner that they mustnecessarily mesh properly in the continued downward movement of gear G,rendering the before-mentioned looking or dead-centering of the teeth ofgears G and H impossible. It would be practicallyimpossible to carry thesegmental gear out of mesh with the successive pinions without holdingthe latter yieldingly against the grip, (as by spring 26,) as the pinionwould be locked against turning when it was brought into unyieldingcontact with the grip U, and if not so locked it would be liable to turnafter the segmental gear passed from it. In the further turning of theshaft E the friction-collars strike the pins S and T and the bushingsare held stationary, the amount of rotation being regulated to throw thegear G the proper distance. WVhile the bushings are thus held againstrotation, the shaft continuing its rotation, the pin e traverses therecess a in flange c to its lower end, at which time the releasingmovement is completed. The grip having been supplied with a new slab,the hand-lever is pressed downward, raising the gear G, which is stillin mesh with gear H, turning the latter in the opposite direction, andclamping the new slab in the grip. At the end of the upper movement ofthe gear G the pin a strikes the upper end wall of recess 0 and carriesthe eccentric bushing back to its original position, the lug C strikingthe upper lug j of friction-collar J and carrying it back to its normalposition, the shaft being at the same time moved laterally to its normalposition by the turning of the eccentric bushing. At the end of itsdownward stroke the hand-lever strikes bar Q and moves arm P, thusturning shaft N, releasing the clutchgears on the main shaft, andallowing the main shaft to make a revolution.

The advantages attendant upon the use of this invention will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art, to whom it will be too obviousthat changes and variations from the specifically-describedconstructions may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new is a 1. Ina button-making machine the combination with a grip-tightening screw anda pinion thereon, of a driving-gear, intermeshing with the pinion, andmeans for moving said driving-gear toward the grip-pinion insubstantially the direction of a radius of the latter. 7

2. In a button-making machine the combination with a grip-tighteningscrew and a pinion thereon, of a driving-gear intermeshing with thepinion and means for moving said driving-gear away from the grip-pinionin substantially the direction of a radius of the latter.

3. ha button-making machine the combination with a grip-tighteningscrew, and a pinion thereon, of a driving-gear intermeshing with thepinion, and means for moving the driving-gear toward and away from thegrip-pinion in substantially the direction of a radius of the latter. 7

4. In a button-making machine the combination with a grip tightening andreleasing screw and a pinion thereon, of a driving-gear intermeshingwith the pinion and means for moving the driving-gear toward the axis ofrotation of the grip-pinion at the beginning of the releasing movement.

5. In a button-making machine, the combination with a grip tighteningandreleasing screw and a pinion thereon, of a-driving-gear intermeshingwith the pinion, and means for moving the driving-gear away from theaxis of rotation of the pinion at the end of the tightening movement.

6. In a button-making machine, the combination with a grip tighteningand releasing screw and a pinion thereon, of a driving-gear intermeshingwith the pinion, means for mov ing the driving-gear away from the axisof rotation of the pinion at the end of the tightening movement andinthe opposite direction at the beginning of the releasing movement.

7. In a button-making machine, the combination with a. grip tighteningand'releasing screw, of a shaft parallel with the screw, eccentricbushings serving as bearings for the shaft, a driving-gear carriedby'the shaft, and means whereby the bushings are slightly rotated at thebeginning of the releasing movement in a direction to move the shaft anddriving-gear nearer to the axis of rotation of the pinion.

8. In a button-making machine, the combination with a grip-tighteningscrew and a pinion thereon, of a shaft parallel with the screw,eccentric bushings serving as bearings for the shaft, a driving-gearcarried by the shaft, and means whereby the bushings are slightlyrotated at the ending of the tightenin g movement in a direction tocarry the shaft and driving-gear away from the axis of rotation of thepinion.

9. In a button-making machine, the combination with a grip tighteningand releasing screw, and a pinion thereon, of a shaft par allel with thescrew, eccentric bushingsserving as bearings for the shaft, adriving-gear on the shaft, and means whereby the bushings are slightlyturned to move the shaft and driving-gear toward the EtXiS of rotationof the pinion at the beginning of thereleasing movement and in theopposite direction at the end of the tightening movement.

10. In a button-making machine, a grip releasing and tighteningmechanism compris ing a shaft, a segmental gear thereon, afriction-collar on the shaft provided with a pair of lugs, an eccentricbushing serving as a bearing for the shaft, said bushing having alateral lug projecting between the lugs of the collar and with arecessed flange, and a pin projecting from the shaft into the recess ofthe flange of the bushing.

11. In a button-making machine, the combination with a horizontalrock-shaft, a segmental gear anda hand-lever projecting therefrom onopposite sides, a parallel rock-shaft, an arm thereon, a lateral bar onsaid arm in the path of movement of thehand-lever, and

nesses.

JOHN HORMBY.

Witnesses:

EDWIN J. PERrN, J12, RALPH F. BUNKER.

